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first time here....i cannot fault this garage...excellent service all round..communication....price....and fantastic job....friendly staff... as a woman never felt intimidated as do with some places....if needed again ill go nowhere else......definately recommened...many thanks..

02.11.17

belinda, Mazda 3

Toyota Aygo clutch replacement, competitive price, quick turnaround and a job well done. I will be returning to Auto Plaza Ltd. for M.O.T. ect. Thanks guys.

03.11.17

Patrick , Toyota Aygo

Fantastic service, great price. I’ll be definitely coming back

11.11.17

Magdalena , Volkswagen Golf

The most friendly accommodating garage I have ever encountered, they made me feel at ease and explained fully how the clutch worked and what they would do to replace it.
I would send my grandmother there with the confidence that she would be looked after respectfully, a professional service and even did the job to suit me.
Many thanks to all the staff concerned.

Got car MOT'd and serviced by Sloane Services. It was more expensive than the online quote, but that was because it needed two new shocks and two tyres, and fitting the shocks was a lot more labour. So it was good value, and it was done to time and they were a pleasure to deal with.

13.04.17

Jeremy Stone, Lexus Rx

Excellent and swift service. Thank you.

19.07.17

ALAIN, Land Rover Discovery Sport

Really nice guys, completed the work on my car and explained all work done. Would recommend to all.

Like most car owners, I have my preferred garage but tried Paul and his team when my usual place couldn't urgently schedule a repair to pass an MOT. Paul took the car in the next day, talked me through the whole process, gave me options and completed an excellent job exactly when he said he would. Would highly recommend.

16.06.16

Raymond, Land Rover Discovery

Paul was really helpful and had the fan and re-wiring done within a couple of hours and I picked my car up the same day. They also cleaned it for me which was an added bonus and greatly appreciated! Im sticking with this garage from now on!

07.12.16

Tyson, Ford Focus

Friendly and efficient service, wouldn't hesitate to recommend!

12.12.16

Miles, Vauxhall Corsa

Good value for money. Paul was very friendly and he fixed my car In no time. Very nice and satisfactory experiance. I Will recommend to everybody who want good service. Thanks Paul, just in time to organise my trip.

23.08.17

Carlos, Citroen C4 Picasso

Professional and friendly approch. Work properly done in really a short time. Highly recommented.

Good customer service and reasonable prices. Fair few things to repair and it was only 3 days.

17.03.17

Gabriella, Ford C-Max

Excellent, honest and fast. Really pleased. Will definitely be back to get my bumper done

29.03.17

Kushan, Volkswagen Tiguan

Did a good job, were quite fast, very happy.

03.04.17

Cherre, Mercedes Clk

Helped me to find out the reason why the aircon did not work properly, ordered the new part, fitted and works fine. At the same time brake discs, pads has been changed. Good small garage with clear straightforward attitude. Thanks,
Alex

05.07.17

Istvan, Mitsubishi Delica

Price quoted included VAT, however actual price added this on according to customer.

How are car body repairs done?

Garages and bodyshops use a variety of techniques to repair your car's bodywork. Rusty areas can be either ground out, or cut out and replaced with fresh metal. Dents can be sucked or pulled out. Imperfections can be smoothed and polished to a perfect finish by using a little filler. Finally paint is perfectly blended to ensure a flawless finish.

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How are dents repaired?

A body shop will use a number of techniques to remove dents including: 'sucking' the dent out, using a 'reverse hammer' to knock the dent from within, and using filler to fill and smooth a dent for a flawless finish.

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What are SMART Repairs?

SMART repairs (Small Medium Area Repair Technology) describe a range of techniques for removing dents, scratches, bumper and wheel flaws, in a localised area. They don't require full panel resprays and can be performed by mobile mechanics.

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What is 'paintless dent repair'?

Paintless Dent Removal (PDR) covers a wide range of dent removal techniques that don't involve filler or paint, including 'pulling out' dents with suction or glue, or using metal rods to push the dent out from the reverse of the dented panel.

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How do bodyshops match car paint colours?

Over time, a car's paint (or clear coating) will fade or become oxidised, so an 'off the shelf' manufacturer's colour won't match exactly. Body Shops will therefore closely examine the condition of your paint in multiple light conditions and order a closely matching 'known variant' of the original colour. Finally, when applying the paint, they will 'blend' it to draw the eye away from any slight difference in colour.

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How much does bodywork repair cost?

The cost of Body Repair will vary hugely depending on the work required. Localised dents can be removed for well under £100, whereas any respraying work will cost at least double that. Quotes for accident repairs or chassis realignment will be much higher, but may be covered by your insurance company.

What is Panel Beating?

Panel beating is a job carried out by specialist bodywork technicians who are able to utilise specific tools and techniques to reshape the metal on the body of a car.

If you are involved in an accident, it will often be the body that takes the brunt of the damage as panels on a car are designed to absorb impact and reduce the force of a crash by cushioning the blow.

Even though a car may have suffered a huge impact, it doesn’t always mean that the panels need to be replaced.

Panel bashing involves using a huge variety of tools to manipulate the metal and get it back to it's original shape.

Depending on the extent of the damage, the amount of time and money spent will vary, however the cost is likely to be less than replacing an entire panel.

Car Respraying

Getting a respray is a quick and easy job which most specialist body shops will be able to carry out.

Depending on the facilities at the body shop you choose, the time the job will take will vary.

Some specialists will have state of the art spraying booths and work with classic and high end cars, these facilities will be able to deliver the highest quality of respray work as the paint and delivery system will be the best avaliable.

However the job is likely to be more expensive than a conventional body shop.

The time taken and cost of the serivce will depend on the type of paint and the size of the area requiring respray.

Car Wrapping

Wrapping a car can help protect the paintwork from weather, chipping and rusting as well as UV rays which can fade the paint on your car.

Furthermore if you happen to scratch or scuff your car, the wrapping will take the brunt of the damage and so protect the underlying paint.

You can have your car wrapped to display specific graphics if you are interested in changing the aesthetic of your car. If you want a stripe on your car or other shapes, you can make the request from a specialist who will provide you with a quote.

Before a vinyl wrap is applied; all of the lights, door handles, trims and badges will be removed from the body of the car.

Special car wrapping surface cleaner will then be applied to your car before the wrap is applied.

Car Welding

Welding is an important part of bodywork car repair as it is essential for fixing different pieces of metal together.

Welding is a highly skilled job and should not be attempted unless you are a trained professional.

There are a huge amount of uses for welding on a vehicle as new parts can be created and existing ones can be repaired.

Many different parts of a car can be repaired with the help of a welding expert so do not think your car is written off if something falls out of the engine!

Rust Removal

Rust removal can be a job completed without the need of a mechanic, however it depends on the extent of the damage and the area which is affected.

Rust forms when an anode, cathode and electrolyte combine.

The metal in your car acts as the cathode and anode which reacts with water (the electrolyte).

Even if your car is under cover, rust will form as a result of these elements coming together if the climate is humid enough.

You can buy specific products online which can help remove rust which are effective at repairing damage, however its effectiveness will vary on the extent of the damage.

The cost of a rust repair will once more depend on the extent of the damage.

Scratches and scruffs

Getting a scratch or scruff is common for cars in the UK however they can be perfectly removed with the right technical knowledge, tools and materials.

It’s important to remember that even if you have suffered from extensive scratching or scuffs, a trained professional has the ability to remove them with precision.

Removing a scratch is far cheaper than having an entire body piece replaced like a bumper so always check with a body shop to see if they can remove a scratch before replacing anything.

On average it doesn’t take too long to have your body work repaired when it comes to scratches and scruffs.

It’s important that you get a car scratch removed as soon as possible as it may get worse over time and the value of your vehicle will reduce!

Having a scratch removed by an expert is the best option unless you are a trained professional, as there are a variety of materials and techniques involved in the process.

The cost and time taken to complete the work will depend entirely on the extent of the damage to the body work so make sure to get as many quotes as possible to avoid paying over the odds.

The mechanic will apply the paint to the car scratch, or car scuff, as part of the bodywork repair. The Paintwork repair required for removing car scratches and car scuffs shouldn’t vary in time or cost greatly, from garage to garage.

Restorations

The bodywork required on a car restoration will be significant as whole panels are likely to require replacement and the ones which stay as part of the original vehicle, will need to be welded, have rust and scratches removed.

A full restoration make take years and they often do, as mechanics and hobbyists use their spare time and money to build their own cars.

A huge amount of car body work will be required on restorations as all of the components will be required to be removed and fixed back into place during different stages of the work.

Dent

Dent repair is one of the biggest parts of body work repair and is essentially the same as panel beating or panel bashing which is covered at the top of this guide.

SMART repair

SMART repair (Small, Medium Area Repair Technology) is a type of service offered by mechanics which is includes the use of specialised tools, paints and materials to provide your car with a good as new finish on an area which may be damaged.

Before the technology existed, if a panel was damaged, the entire piece would have to be replaced meaning more money and time would have to be spent on car maintenance.

The advances in technology mean that the speed and effectiveness of body work repair is significantly improved.

According to YouGov research, 65% of cars in the UK are carrying damage which could easily be repaired using SMART repair.

The specific jobs included in this type of body work are;

Bumper repair

Alloy wheel repair

Scratch repair

Dent Repair

Alloy wheel refurbishment

Bumper repair

Exterior trim repair

Finding a mechanic you can trust to do a good job and charge a fair price, is not always easy which is why we simplified the process.

We work with a network of 8,500 mechanics and garages across the UK so we can find competitive MOT deals for you.To find the best MOT service in your region;

Enter your car registration number

Give us a few details about your car and your requirements

We’ll send you a great selection of quotes from mechanics and garages in your area

You can then compare the quotes and read reviews from previous customers to find the best body work deal in your area, before booking online.

Very quick to reply to my request, extremely knowledgeable guys and taught me a new thing or two about my vehicle. More than happy to recommend them especially with their free pick up service. Never felt they were doing any additional work that didn't need to be done, will be using again!